CHAPTER 8:
THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
The day after the funeral, Garnet gathered her friends and comrades, as well as Lani, Amarant, and Baku, in a conference room. Harry had met Dr Tot a couple of times before the funeral, and he was astonished to learn about more summoners, and from the legendary Madain Sari. The diminutive man with the thick glasses and prominent nose was pleasant, although he had many questions to ask Harry and Eiko about Madain Sari. He was fascinated to learn that Harry came from another world with different technology.
Freya Crescent was interesting. A tall, elegant bipedal rat, dressed in red livery, she nonetheless was a kind, if somewhat formal person to speak to. She seemed curious, like Tot, to learn that he came from another world. She seemed a little ill at ease around Beatrix.
The last member of the group that Harry didn't know was a burly, bulky man with a pig-like nose and prominent, donkey-like ears. This, Zidane explained, was Baku, his former boss with Tantalus, and his father. Steiner often glared at Baku, who didn't even deign to respond.
Garnet sat at the head of the table, and looked across at them. Her voice rang out with a surprising authority, despite her relative youth. "Many of us here have lost something dear to Kuja, whether it be friends, family, homes, or honour. My mother, in her avarice, has destroyed alliances and countless lives, and brought Alexandria into shame and disrepute. But Kuja ignited the flames. He masterminded the war which has devastated the Mist Continent, burning it to ashes. All for a plan of his own design. He now has control of at least Bahamut, and a mighty airship that makes the best military airships look like nothing. I cannot confess to know exactly why Kuja stoked my mother's greed."
"It may have to do with the Iifa Tree," Zidane pointed out. "Soulcage said that the Mist was used to promote aggression. And that it was only the byproduct of what it was truly doing. And even though we killed Soulcage, Kuja was far from bothered."
"Indeed. Soulcage admitted that Kuja comes from another world, as does Zidane." This provoked a round of astonished gasps from those not in the know. "In addition, Kuja called Zidane a brother when confronted with this fact. And before you ask, Steiner, I trust Zidane with my life as much as I do you. If anything, he wishes to disown the place of his birth, as Kuja sets the bar very low in terms of his people's moral standards."
"I could hardly disagree, Your Majesty," Steiner said, though he shot a glare at Zidane.
"Good. I have sent emissaries to Lindblum. Uncle Cid is willing to help, even if the citizens of Lindblum are still more than a little wary of Alexandria, despite a new Queen on the throne," Garnet said. "Sadly, my overtures have been rejected by the survivors of Burmecia, although they have accepted my pledge to return the jewel stolen from them. Once I am crowned, I will give these jewels back to their rightful owners."
"It is hardly surprising that they rejected your overtures, Your Majesty," Freya said. "Brahne's actions have decimated our people. Cleyra was destroyed by Odin, and Beatrix and her troops decimated Burmecia proper. Only a few hundred reached Lindblum, and the rest are scattered across the Mist Continent, as ill-named as it is now."
Garnet nodded sadly. "I know. And I wish I could have made my mother see sense. In any case, Uncle Cid has agreed that we need to act against Kuja, but in order to do so, we need to find out more about the man himself. It is why I've gathered you all. I intend to create a group of people whose purpose, for the time being, is to find out as much as possible about Kuja, so that we may be better prepared to stop him. It is your solemn duty to do so, under the auspices of General Beatrix and Captain Steiner."
"Your Majesty, you can't be serious!" Steiner yelped. "Leaving aside the dubious moralities of Tantalus and these mercenaries, I cannot condone exposing Masters Vivi and Harry, and Mistress Eiko to any further danger! Their fighting alongside you, and us in the case of Master Vivi, was born of necessity!"
Beatrix nodded. "Captain Steiner has a point, Your Majesty. I do not doubt their ability in battle, but to expose them to further peril is…"
"What if we want to?" Harry asked. As the others looked at him, he said, "I don't like hurting people, or killing them. It's wrong. But I don't want Kuja to hurt or kill anyone else. Anyway, Eiko and I are summoners. He might come after us anyway."
Vivi nodded. "And he used my people against others. I'm not going to run from him."
"Master Vivi, please, I implore you…" Steiner said.
"Oh, be quiet, will you?!" Eiko snapped. "We're helping out, and that's final! So there!" To emphasise her eloquently put and mature point, she poked her tongue out.
Lani smirked. "Girl's got a lot of spirit. Just keep in mind, girly, that Tin Man there has a point. You're strong mages, but you're still kids, and we can't always babysit you."
"I have fought alongside Vivi many times," Freya said. "Should these two have but a fraction of his mettle, then I would be glad to have them as comrades, regardless."
"I should also point out that, for the time being, I am not sending any of you into battle," Garnet said. "We need to know where Kuja is in the first place. Which is why I am sending most of you to Treno."
"Treno?" Freya asked.
"Kuja is linked to the King family of Treno. It is doubtful he remains there now, and I do not intend for you to fight there in any case. But I want you to investigate, discreetly, Kuja's links there, and throughout Treno. I know you have links in Treno you can explore, Amarant. I also believe that there is a Tetra Master Tournament occurring as well. I know you like to play the game, Zidane. There may be those who know Kuja amongst the players, as Tetra Master Tournaments are sometimes used, according to Doctor Tot, for merchants and customers to talk shop, especially those of a dubious persuasion."
"Yeah, I know," Baku said, speaking for the first time. "How d'you think Tantalus offloads its gear? We don't just sell things in Lindblum, y'know. The King family sometimes sold them through their famous auctions. But we never heard anything about a Kuja before now. Then again, we sold stuff through more than a few cut-outs." The man then let loose a hearty sneeze, and then another one. "Dammit, someone's talking smack about me behind my back. Prob'ly Cinna, given that beating I gave him at South Gate after he missed the tram too many times."
"In any case," Garnet continued, "this group will gather the intelligence needed to strike back at Kuja, and find out the truth behind his plans, and behind the Iifa Tree. I do not expect you to do anything dangerous on my behalf for now, so please, do not be reckless. I have also decided to give this group a name. At first, I thought of Nemesis, the deity of divine retribution. But what we are doing should not be for revenge, but for simple protection against Kuja. It was you, Eiko, who provided the inspiration with your Eidolon, Phoenix."
"Really?" Eiko asked.
"Indeed. Because we work to make sure that the people of the Mist Continent will rise from the ashes of war stronger than ever, despite the best efforts by Kuja and my mother to destroy them, we shall be called the Order of the Phoenix."
On another world, a certain old man sneezed, along with his familiar. He looked at said bird, and said, "My dear Fawkes, I hope we are not catching the same cold…"
Harry blinked. "Why do I have a weird feeling when you said that?"
"Jealousy, perhaps, Harry?" Eiko asked.
"Eiko," Garnet rebuked quietly, before she said, "I have also asked Steiner and Beatrix to capture Zorn and Thorn if they show themselves. They may have additional intelligence on Kuja, and considering they were able to extract Eidolons, it will be better if we know where they are. Uncle Cid has also agreed to keep an eye out for them. Baku, Amarant, and Lani, you three are dismissed for the moment, until the time comes for you to travel to Treno. I wish to speak to the others alone."
The three ne'er-do-wells did leave. After they did, Garnet put her face in her hands. "Three days before the Coronation, and already I am weary."
"Such is the life of a Queen who cares much about her demesne, Your Majesty," Beatrix said. "Not to mention others beyond it."
"Beatrix…Steiner…Doctor Tot has told me that you know of my true parentage. Does this affect your fealty?"
"Not at all!" Steiner snapped. "Your parents chose to adopt you as their daughter and heir! If Beatrix does not mind my speaking on her behalf, our fealty is the same as before. Indeed, if anything, it is stronger. I am only saddened for the loss of the original Garnet, who perished from illness shortly before your arrival here from Madain Sari."
Beatrix nodded. "Steiner has taken a liberty speaking on my behalf, but he truly does speak for my own sentiments, which we share. Your parents chose to make you their heir. That makes you the Princess, and therefore, the Queen above all other considerations."
"I thank you two for your loyalty. Especially you, Beatrix, after Burmecia and Cleyra."
"I do my best penance for them by serving you, Your Majesty," Beatrix said, kneeling. "Some may argue that I should take my own life for penance. But a single life is not equal to those I have taken in arrogance and folly. Lady Freya has been kind enough to stand alongside me and fight as a comrade, despite my actions. I hope to further prove my penitence by my actions from here on."
"As do I," Garnet said, standing. "I may not have committed my mother's sins, but I intend to make up for them. Beatrix, there's no need to kneel. I know you're sincere. All of you here are. Save for Doctor Tot, Steiner and Beatrix, none of you have any loyalty or vows to Alexandria, and yet you helped me with nary a thought. I am truly grateful."
"You don't really need a reason to help someone," Zidane remarked with a shrug. "You don't need vows and stuff. All you need is a bit of decency and a bit of courage."
"A crude, but apt truism," Beatrix remarked, much to Steiner's irritation.
"Indeed. Zidane is like that," Freya commented with a smile. "Thief he may be, but he is certainly chivalrous."
Steiner harrumphed loudly, clearly unhappy with the praise Zidane got…and the smirk the thief sent his way.
Doctor Tot then moved forward. "Before I forget, Your Majesty, I found these amongst your mother's effects. These gemstones contain the power of your Eidolons."
Garnet took the box, and frowned when she looked inside. "There are two missing. I can understand the gemstone of Bahamut not being present, but there is another missing."
"That would be the Dark Matter orb," Beatrix said, looking at the gemstones in the case. "It is conspicuous by its absence. There is the Opal of Shiva, the Topaz of Ifrit, and the Amethyst of Atomos. The Dark Matter orb was the summoning focus of Odin."
Garnet nodded. "We will have to track that down, lest it fall into the wrong hands." She peered at the gemstones solemnly. "Shiva, Ifrit, Atomos…I vow to use your powers for good than ill."
That night, as Alexandria slept, and the Order of the Phoenix made its way to Treno via Gargan Roo, a pair of extraordinary men made their way furtively across town. Short, dressed in jester clothing, one blue, the other red.
"A good idea, this is?"
"Of course it's a good idea!"
"Wonder, I really do."
"Is this the time to wonder?"
"I would ask the same question."
The question caused Zorn and Thorn, former jesters, major-domos, and dirty jobs men to Queen Brahne, to halt in their tracks. Stepping out in front of them was Captain Adelbert Steiner, who looked far from happy.
"And I wouldn't suggest running, either," came the voice of General Beatrix from behind them. They turned to find her, and a few soldiers from the City Watch, blocking their escape that way. Steiner was soon joined by more of them.
After a moment's consideration, the two jesters held their arms up. "We surrender!" they chorused.
"A wise choice, gentlemen," Beatrix said. "Shall we escort them to their accommodation for the night, Captain?"
Steiner got an uncharacteristically vicious smile on his face, a small and thin one, but there. "Indeed, General. And I am sure you two would not mind answering some questions, particularly about Kuja."
The two jesters quailed, but allowed themselves to be taken away. Now was not the time for them to act. That would come later…
CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:
And here you have it: a new spin on events at the beginning of Disc Three. Garnet and Zidane are still separated, but there's less of the lovelorn drama, and more of Garnet being a kick-ass queen. Zidane will still have a bit of a nasty realisation about the fact that, with Garnet as Queen, they'll probably be forced apart.
And yes, it was more than a little cheesy for me to name their group the Order of the Phoenix, but I was originally going to name it Nemesis, before deciding that that didn't fit Garnet's personality.
Eiko has the Madain Sari jewel still, and Garnet possesses the others for the moment, so Alexander will be summoned. The next chapter, however, will be mostly Treno.
No numbered annotations this time…